Long Story Short

Birmingham is on an exciting journey. While the city still feels the buzz from delivering a successful 2022 Commonwealth Games, this international showcase event proved that the city could deliver on the global stage and has created momentum to kickstart its ambitious plans to make the city more sustainable. A new plan for the city – Our Future City Framework - will look to shape Birmingham’s deve...

London is rightly famed as an iconic global city, and it’s also leading the way in its journey towards net zero. While the city ranks an impressive 6th place in the latest edition of Arcadis’ Sustainable Cities Index , our research also highlights the challenges of a city dealing with deep inequalities and a lack of inclusivity in its economic sustainability. So, how can London continue building a...

Manchester and Leeds are two Northern cities known for their drive and ambition. But just how sustainable are both cities? In this episode, broadcast from the Great Northern Conference, we take a deep dive into how Manchester and Leeds performed in the latest edition of Arcadis’ Sustainable Cities Index. Our research ranks 100 global cities on environmental, economic and social factors. Both citie...

We’ve heard about hydrogen and its potential to be used as an alternative energy source, but why is it only now being taken seriously? As the world recognises the urgency to shift to renewable energy to meet net zero goals, is this the time for hydrogen to be truly utilised? In this podcast episode, we explore all things hydrogen – the good, the bad and the future of the most abundant element in t...

Our guests Smriti Singh, Lead for Healthcare Transformation at Arcadis and Simon James, CEO of KIMS hospital, discuss our healthcare systems post-pandemic and the challenges ahead. What did COVID teach us about what we need from our hospitals? From diverting resources and space, to infection control, our major medical centres had to be repurposed at breakneck speed to respond to a virus we knew no...

First came PropTech – the digital transformation of the property industry – and now we have PlaceTech, bringing technology to our public spaces. Our guests Ruxandra Radulescu, Paul Unger and Nilesh Parmer cut through the jargon and discuss how the human experience of places is changing.

The way we work is changing. As society re-emerges from lockdown, our needs and expectations have changed. The post-pandemic workplace must be reshaped and re imagined, but how can we create spaces that are flexible, adaptive and blend to these changing needs? In a world where work is no longer restricted to within the same four walls, what does it mean to create a truly destination work environme...

The rise in demand for places where people can live, work and spend their leisure time all within their local communities has led to a resurgence in the 15-minute community. The concept has been around for several years and, in short, seeks to rethink how communities are planned by focusing on reducing car-dependency and long commutes. It improves quality of life by ensuring all essential amenitie...

When COVID-19 struck, our cities fell silent. With the hum of traffic replaced by birdsong, the sudden uptake in walking and cycling gave us a vision of a low-traffic future. Healthier, less congested and with less pollution, many cities rapidly introduced schemes to make streets less car-centric, and friendlier for pedestrians and cyclists. But how successful have these interventions been? In thi...

With 1.9 million UK households digitally excluded, COVID-19 has exposed the widening gap between the digital have’s and have not’s. But it’s also signposted to some of the benefits that ending digital poverty could bring. In this episode, Mark Harrop from Arcadis, Dave Nielson from Fusion21 and Paul Finnis from Digital Access for All, share their passion for addressing digital poverty and make the...

From the Government slogan - “Stay home. Protect the NHS. Save Lives.” - to the 8pm Clap for Carers, the NHS has been front and centre of the fight against COVID-19. But has our relationship with our national health service changed? And what have we learnt from the pandemic that could change the future of healthcare provision?   With capacity threatening to reach breaking point, the speed at which...

Welcome to the second series of Long Story Short, the Future Cities podcast from Arcadis UK. Series one was all about the way we live, work, play and thrive in our cities. But like many things, in the wake of COVID-19 we are refocusing. So in this series we examine the huge changes the world is going through as it slowly starts to reopen and societies try to reclaim a little normality.   

Imagine the town centre of the future and the changes that need to be made to achieve it: what will it look like? Who will it serve and what part does it play in its community? Urban centres are, and should be, responding to the needs of their communities, the challenges of changing retail habits, declining footfall, and the need for greater flexibility in our spaces. In light of COVID-19, how can...

The world of work is changing – and faster than we ever anticipated. With the spread of COVID-19 rapidly accelerating a massive societal shift towards home working, we ask whether now is the ideal time for businesses to think about making some more permanent changes, once the crisis is over? Could this be the end of the traditional, desk-bound 9-5, and what does this mean for how we’ll do our jobs...

Do you love where you live?  Whether a park, a building, a town or city, people and communities thrive when the spaces they live, work and play in are designed to meet their changing needs. This special episode was recorded in front of a live audience. Our guests Kat Hanna, Peter Hogg, Clare Wood and Andrew Tuck talk about what makes a great place. From historical places designed by and for able-b...

Would you buy a home built in a factory? ​ The scale of the housing crisis is well-documented; we all know the UK needs more homes. But what if there was a faster way to build better, more eco-friendly housing? ​ This episode looks at whether modular, construction – in which homes are built in a factory and then assembled on site - could be the answer? And if it is the panacea we’ve been looking f...

Should nature’s benefits come for free? Everyone loves green spaces. Whether it’s a park, community garden or playing field, they are crucial to escaping the stress and pollution of our busy lives. But, do they do enough for a city? In this episode, we examine our natural assets and explore how natural capital, the basic conditions for human existence, builds a bridge between the environment, the...

Humans vs robots. What is the role of humans in the future of driving?  Driverless cars are on their way. Are we ready for them? In this episode we take a deep dive in to this emerging technology, exploring what people really think and how we can cut through the buzzwords to understand the impact on people and communities. We ask, is this really a good thing? Our guests are three people shaping th...

What will be the last profession left standing? The way in which we work is changing at a rate never seen before. But what does this mean for how and where we work, and even the sort of work we will be doing? With a third of jobs expected to be wiped out in the next three decades, we ask what the last profession left standing will be. In this episode Emma Nelson, freelance radio and TV presenter a...

An automated future? Making our cities more human...  Cities of today would be unrecognisable just 10 years ago. But have these changes made our cities better places to live, move, work and play in? And what does the future look like, not only for us but for our children, grandchildren and generations to come?  In the first episode of this new series Emma Nelson, freelance radio and TV presenter a...